Fog light attachment for headlights



Nov. 21, 1950 c. E. DAVIS ET AL 2,530,685

, FOG LIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR HEADLIGHTS Filed March 8, 1947 FIG. I.

INVENTORS CLAUDE E. DAVIS EARL D. STEVENSON ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 21, 1950 IFOGV'ILIGHT'ATTACHMENT FOR.

- HEADLIGHTS Claude E. l )avis and Earl D. Stevenson Fullerton, Calif.

Application March 8, 1947, Serial No. 733,308

4 Claims. (01. 240-4659) Our invention has todo-with attachments fort :2

conventional vehicle headlights for the purpose of converting such headlights .into fog lights.

Since devices of this character are actually in use only a relatively small part of the time, they some compartment of a vehicle body sothat they are conveniently accessible when needed for use, and they must be capable of being installed and demounted veryeasily and without special tools,

as otherwise a driver may be inclined to drive cm"- in the fog rather than suffer the delay required to install the attachment. 'While heretofore devices have been proposed for the purpose of converting headlights intofog" lights, so'far as we must be capable of being safely'storedaway inzii:

are aware they have all had shortcomings and' quiring some special tool for the-purpose; also they are relatively complicated, expensive to produce, fragile and cannot be stored away without considerable danger of breakage.

It is an object of our present invention to provide a fog light attachment for headlights which attachment is extremely simple, economical of manufacture, easy to apply to and remove from a headlight lens, and which may be safely stored in any vehicle body compartment without danger of breakage.

Another object is to provide a device of this character whose means for attaching it to a headlight lens is so positioned that it covers what otherwise would be the blind spot of the headlight.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

So that. our invention may be fully understood We shall now describe one presently preferred embodiment thereof for which purpose we shall refer to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a headlight with our attachment mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged medial section; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section showing the vacuum cup in free or unflattened shape.

Referring now to the drawings, we show at 5 a headlight casing of the sealed beam type, having the usual convexed lens 6 held on the casing by a retaining band 1. So far, the structure which we have described is conventional and it is understood that the particular construction of the casing is immaterial insofaras our invention is concerned.

To convert such a conventional headlight into a fog light, we provide the novel attachment generally designated l 0 now to be described.

This attachment comprises a transparent filter sheet, preferably of a suitable flexible plastic such as cellulose acetate, and preferably of amber color. The sheet is preformed to conform to the exterior surface of the headlight lens 6, except that 'at'its medial portion I6 the convexity is of a relatively shorter radius so as to provide a pocket ll affording a space between the medial portion of the sheet and the headlight lens 6, for the purpose to be described.

I For detachably mounting the sheet [5 on the headlight lens we provide a rubber-like suction cup [8 which has a medial outwardly extending neck It] projecting through a central hole 20 in the sheet 15. j The neck has an outer end enlargement 2| which serves to retain the neck against inward escape through the hole 20, although the enlargement is sufficiently compressible that to mount the suction cup the enlargement ma be squeezed through the hole. The suction cup thus covers what would otherwise be the blind spot in the lens 6 and does not interfere with the illumination of the road.

To mount the device on the headlight lens it is necessary only to position it in covering relationship to the lens and then press inwardly on the center to cause the suction cup to engage the smooth lens surface and adhere thereto, thus retaining the sheet is against the lens. This can be done in an instant and still, after being applied, the device is held firmly in place.

'lT'o remove the device it is necessary only to pull outwardly on the enlargement 2| until the vacuum cup is suificiently displaced as to'permit air to enter between the cup and the lens surface and break the vacuum grip of the cup with the lens.

After being removed, the device may be conveniently stored in any available compartment of the vehicle without danger of breakage. It is also apparent that the device may be manufactured with such economy that it maybe made generally available at a nominal price. Also, the device may be installed by the most unskilled person and without any special tools.

While we have described the embodiment which we have found preferable, it will be understood, of course, that within the broader scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims, it is susceptible of being embodied in other and modified physical forms.

We claim:

1. A fog light attachment for a headlight comprising a convexed light filtering sheet, the convexity of the medial portion of the sheet being of shorter radius than the convexity of the surrounding portion of the'sheet whereby said latter portion will conform to the outer surface of a convexed headlight lens and said medial portion provides a pocket, a rubber-like suction cup disposed in said pocket and opening towards said headlight lens for engagement therewith, and means for securing the suction cup to s'aidsheet.

2. A fog light attachment for a headlight com: prising a convexed light filtering sheet having a medial hole therethrough, the 'convexity 'of'the medial portion of the sheet being of shorter ta.- dius than the convexity of the surrounding por- F1 1 o he sheet. where saisi lette semen wi conform to the outer surface of a convergedadli hten 11? dial 391 IFQ iQE a pocket, a rubber-like suction cup disposed in said pocket and opening towards said headlight lens 9 e g t th e h and mea s i9? $3 ing thesuction cup to said sheet, said latter means comprising a neck on the suction cup extendin through said medial hole and being enlarged at its outer end to a size larger than said hole.

3. A fog light attachment for a headlight comprising a convexed, flexible, light filtering sheet,

the convexity of the medial portion of the sheet being of shorter radius than the convexity of the surrounding portion 'of the sheetwhereby said latter portion will conform to the outer surface of a conv'exed headlight lens and saidmedial portion provides a pocket, a rubber-like suction cup disposed in said pocket and opening towards said headlight lens for engagement therewith, and means for securing the suction cup to said sheet.

4. A fog light attachment for a headlight lens comprising a flexible light-filtering sheet presenting an outwardly dished central portion and a surrounding portion conforming to the outer surface of the lens, and a suction cup secured at its outer end to said dished portion and having a cupped inner end disposed to flexibly engage the central portion of the outer surface of the lens, the over-all length of the suction cup, when in flexible engagement with the lens, being not substantially greater than the depth of said dished igrtion'whereby when the suction cup is in such engagement with the lens, the surrounding portionof the sheet is held against the outer surface CLAUDE E. DAVIS. EARL D. STEVENSON.

REFEREHCES CITED The foliowingreferences are of record in the fil'e or this 7 patent:

QTHE RE ERENQES e eetifl Amer can: May 3 2 ages 24 -2 9 in Sc entific Emmi 

